unist graduate school of interdisciplinary management

The 7th International Trading Conference (2017 ITC) has been successfully concluded at Lotte Hotel in Ulsan on October 24th, 2017. Jointly organized by the city of Ulsan, Ulsan Port Authority (UPA), and the UNIST Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Management (GSIM), the forum was attended by approximately 250 experts working in fields, ranging from oil production and refining to energy commodity trading. The ITC conference was designed to promote the Northeast Asian Energy Hub project by the City of Ulsan, which hopes to become one of the four petroleum logistics hubs in the world. The conference, turning seven this year, plays an active role in academic exchanges of energy oil market and the role of a bridgehead for the research activity of the related fields, as well. This year’s meeting is to explore how we analyze and forecast the impact of technological innovation in the energy sector under the topic of “Technology Innovation and Energy Commodity Market”. By formulating future strategies and polices against these matters, the meeting also provided a forum for discussion on the activation of energy trading in Northeast Asia. The speakers for the conference are from leading universities and organizations, including Thomas K. Lee, Senior Industry Economist of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), President Jae Hoon Lee of SK Gas Ltd., and Younghoon Kang, Senior Research Fellow of Ulsan Development Institute. The conference’s sessions were focused on “Progress of Northeast Asia Oil-hub Project”, “Strategies for Expanding Northeast Asia Oil Market”, as well as on the “Application of Big-data to Energy Market”. Thomas K. Lee, a senior economist of U.S. Energy Information Administration, was invited to deliever a keynote adress on “Big Data, Energy Information, and Market Dynamics” at the conference. According to Lee, oil prices have declined sharply over the past decades, yet companies still remain profitable thanks to technological advancements. He envisions that the advancements in technology, brought by the 4th Industrial Revolution, such as Big-data, will soon transform the energy market. President Jae Hoon Lee of SK Gas Ltd. gave an excellent presentation on “Shale Revolution and Paradigm Shift in Energy Market”. While introducing the U.S. shale oil and gas revolution, President Lee talked about the Trump Administration and global environmental policies (Paris climate agreement). “The US-based Shale Revolution has not only weakened Middle East’s role in the global oil market, but has also increased the production of global gas markets, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).” says President Lee. “This has brought fundamental structural changes in the energy sector in terms of pricing. In addition, Younghoon Kang, a senior research fellow of Ulsan Development Institute gave a presentation on the ‘Current Status and Future Tasks of Oil Hub Project in Ulsan”. During his speech, he explained the progress of the Ulsan Port Development project, which started in 2009 as an oil hub project for Northeast Asia. “This conference assembles a group of leading energy trading experts to present and discuss their work at the cutting edge of energy research,” says President Mooyoung Jung of UNIST. “With the recent revision of the Petroleum Alternative Fuel Business Act in April, Ulsan has now a legal basis to grow into a Northeast Asian energy hub.”